Day 2 – Quiet campground this morning, but it must’ve been busy over the weekend! Sunny and 66 degrees when we got up. We had a restful night & the cats did well, too. It’s amazing to us how things have switched – this is home & we all settled right in; the original “home” is now the vacation spot.
96 miles (2:25), 29261-29357
Salisbury Beach State Reservation: 1 Beach Road, Salisbury, MA 01952, (978) 462-4481, salisbury.beach@state.ma.us. Check in 1 p.m. Check out 11 a.m. Close to the border between Massachusetts & New Hampshire, Salisbury Beach overlooks the point at which the Merrimack River feeds the Atlantic Ocean. Its location is convenient to shopping & many excellent local fish restaurants (for example, Brown’s Lobster Pound on the NH border). It is only about 10 minutes from I-95 which makes it a very easy overnight stopover destination. Salisbury Beach State Reservation is a state-owned, public recreation area on the Atlantic Ocean in the town of Salisbury, MA, managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. It’s more expensive than what we prefer to pay ($47 for one night off-season rate, no discounts), but its location & easy-in, easy-out camping experience makes it worthwhile. Water & electric hook-ups May to October, no hook-ups the rest of the year. There is a dump station. The Reservation is on 355 acres; the campground has 484 campsites. There is fishing, boating (2 boat ramps on the Merrimack River), and swimming (3.8-mile coastline). Reservations are recommended during the summer season, particularly weekends, with minimum two-night stays required. It can be very crowded. We had site #D27. We’ve stayed here many times and would stay here again.
We departed the campground at 10:10 a.m.; it was 72 degrees and sunny, a gorgeous day. We stopped for gas and at a weigh station to see if our weight was distributed better throughout the RV. Result, it was much better. Mission accomplished. We quickly passed into New Hampshire, drove north on I-95 with very little traffic, then drove over the Piscataqua River into Maine. There’s something about crossing into Maine. There are more trees, lots of spruce & evergreens, signs to “Watch for Moose”, frequent water views with the Ocean, Rivers, and Estuaries. The sky was brilliant blue & clear, with crisp, clean air. New Hampshire, in this area, has wonderful beaches, also.
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When you are in southern Maine, there are crowds. Many frequent the store outlets for shopping, particularly in Kittery. The beaches are crowded when it’s warm. Plenty of restaurants. But the further you go into Maine, the better it gets. At this point, we tend to stay away from the coast and Route 1 due to the traffic & crowds. But past Portland, which is a great city in itself, we usually stay in Freeport. It’s crowded also, as is Camden farther along, but we really like Freeport. They have managed to keep the fairly simple Maine feel even though they’ve had substantial growth. There’s a MacDonald’s and a Starbuck’s, but they don’t look like those stores normally do. Freeport is the “Home of LL Bean”, their stores stretch for more than a city block. You can spend an entire day just going from one LL Bean store to another. And we don’t like to shop! Freeport has the wonderful Harrasseekit Inn with the most incredible Sunday Brunch you can imagine, two great restaurants, and afternoon tea. Beautiful, but expensive, rooms. (It’s much cheaper to camp and drive in.) The Inn is within walking distance to many great stores: great pottery stores & art galleries, the incredible Thomas Moser store & showroom with unbelievable hand-made furniture, LL Bean’s stores, restaurants, etc. By car you can go to the outlets if you want, or there’s Cuddledown where we got bamboo towels years ago – the longest-lasting, thick, fast-drying, wrap-yourself-in-comfort towels that we’ve fallen in love with; or the Maine Beer Company a great Brewery with some unique beers; or you can drive to the wharf & the lobster pound there; or drive to Wolfe’s Neck State Park for a great hike. And drive through the town, away from the stores and Main Street – it is lovely.
Freeport, ME
L.L. Bean Flagship Store, Freeport, ME
We arrived at our destination, Recompense Shore Campground near Freeport, Maine at 12:35 p.m., 83 degrees and sunny. They weren’t very crowded but had been full over the holiday weekend. We had our pick of campsites & we drove through to pick our site. We were looking for water & electric hook-ups. Most of those sites were either around a meadow or in a partially-shaded area; we chose the one with the most shade since it was going to be hot today. The best sites are on the water where we’ve stayed before, but they are without any hook-ups & are more expensive. Since we were only staying one night, we didn’t need to pay extra.
We chose site #104. We unpacked & set up, had lunch, and headed into Freeport. Recompense Shore Campground is part of Wolfe’s Neck Farm. Located in a beautiful rural setting near Wolfe’s Neck State Park, the farm offers many classes on organic farming, sponsored by Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture and the Environment, a leading organic demonstration farm and educational resource center. We stayed here for several days last June and loved it. Our site then overlooked the water. The campsite we have this time is by an open field full of grazing, happy cows.
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We drove into Freeport. It was less crowded than we’ve ever seen it; sometimes they are mobbed. Stopped of course at the LL Bean Outlet. Rob needed some shorts. It was 88 degrees by then; this was something he could really use! They always have excellent sales. He found 3 pairs of shorts. On the way out of the store, outside, they had some outdoor chairs set up. We sat down – very comfortable and light-weight, easy to carry and on sale. We bought the last two. We went to Cuddledown, the other shopping we’d planned to do, and got another set of bamboo towels. Now we’ll have them in the RV, too. We went to the Maine Beer Company to see if they had a beer Rob had tried last time he was here – the “Mean Old Tom, Stout”. They make their unique beers in small batches & although available for tasting last time, he was unable to take any home with him. Same deal this time. So Rob took their card & was told to call first & they’d tell him when the next batch for sale would be in. Our tastes were free & he still thought it was a very good beer at his second tasting. He did buy another beer, “Dinner, Double India Pale Ale” (which I thought was awful, but I’m not a beer drinker), and he felt it wasn’t as good as the one he’d wanted. We’ll try again next time.
We finished off our day at the Broad Arrow Tavern, one of the restaurants at the Harrasseekit Inn. We’ve eaten here every time we’ve gone through Freeport. They have an incredible Lobster Stew, which is a thick lobster chowder. Best we’ve ever had. The rest of the food is good, too, and the restaurant is comfortable and in a nice setting. This time we had the Spinach, Artichoke & Asiago Dip served with their crispy house-made pizza crust pieces, beer & wine, Lobster Stew, and we split the large Lobster Roll which came with fries. We substituted the potato fries for sweet potato fries that were incredible. Everything was excellent. On other occasions we’ve had the Wild Mushroom Pizza & the Pasta. During the day, Monday thru Friday, they offer a very good buffet, too.
Satisfied, we went back to the RV, fed the girls (who were still sleeping where we’d left them), and relaxed for the rest of the evening. Another good day in Freeport.